


Virtual Love

by RosalindHawkins



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: F/M, Fillershipping - Freeform, Het, One Shot, Short One Shot, Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 14:22:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7511675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosalindHawkins/pseuds/RosalindHawkins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While playing one of Kaiba's Virtual Reality games, Rebecca Hawkins runs into a not-so-familiar face...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Virtual Love

Rebecca Hawkins was thoroughly enjoying her time in Kaiba’s Virtual Reality game. She’d gotten her hands on it as soon as it came out. At the moment, she was pursuing side quests in order to build up experience and acquire better weapons before going after the boss on this level. She was supposed to fight her way through a series of monsters in order to reach the back of a cave so that she could mine some elemental crystals for the blacksmith. She liked the idea of forging custom weapons by gathering the right materials through side quests; it allowed her to control the stats of the weapon, and she preferred having control of those things. She didn’t become the the American Duel Monsters Champion by letting other people make her decks. Sure, she’d used her grandfather’s deck when dueling Yugi after Duelist Kingdom, but that was for poetic justice. She had other self-built decks, like the one she’d used in the KC World Championship.

  
“Wow!” she exclaimed as she entered the final cavern. It was filled with multi-colored crystals growing all over the walls, reflecting and refracting the light that shone from her lantern. She took a moment to do a full turn and enjoy the kaleidoscopic splendor of the cavern. She was the only one in here, but she saw a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye as she turned.

  
“Hello? Is someone there?” Silence answered her question in the negative, but she trusted her eyes. She’d seen someone else in here with her. She moved backwards to block the only way in and out of the crystal cavern so that whoever it was couldn’t escape before answering to her. “I know you’re in here, so just come on out!” She held up her lantern, hoping that the light would help her to see the intruder. She gazed around the room and caught sight of a distorted figure reflected in one large crystal. A boy, about her age, with green hair and white clothes, and that was all she could make out with any degree of certainty.  
“I see you over there, you know,” she said loudly, sounding less angry now that she could see the intruder was no real threat to her. “With your green hair. So why don’t you just come on out and tell me who you are?”

  
Silence for a few moments, then the boy came out of hiding at last. His eyes were as blue as Kaiba's. “I’m sorry for spying on you,” he apologized politely. “But I was very impressed with your performance on the last quest and wanted to see more of your skills. You’re the best player I’ve seen so far.” Rebecca watched him curiously for a moment. He didn’t talk like an NPC, but he didn’t talk quite like a gamer either.

  
“What’s your name?” she asked.

  
“Noah. What’s yours?”

  
“Rebecca.” She put a hand on her hip while continuing to hold up her lantern. “Are you a beta-tester?”

  
“No,” he answered immediately, then looked uncomfortable.

  
“And you’re not an NPC?”

  
He laughed at that. “No, I’m not an NPC.”

  
“Then you’re a player?” she concluded.

  
“Not… quite, no,” he answered, looking unsure of himself.

  
Rebecca gasped. “You’re a hacker!”

  
“No, no, no!” Noah cried, waving his hands in front of him in heavy denial. He looked distressed by her claim and came a few steps forward, bringing himself closer to her, but not too close. “I’m not a hacker. I mean, I am perfectly capable of being a hacker. I have the intelligence and skills to be one. I could even warp this entire Virtual World and trap all of the players in here if I wanted to, but I _don’t_ want to. I’m not bad anymore.” He smiled reassuringly, but Rebecca still looked suspicious, although she felt grudging admiration for someone who seemed to be almost as smart as her, if not equally so.

  
“What are you doing here, then? Does Kaiba know you’re here?”

  
“Yes, he knows,” Noah assured. “He’s given me the authority to discipline and expel players who I catch cheating.”

  
“So you followed me because you thought I was cheating?!” Rebecca exclaimed, outraged. “I’ll have you know that I am an extremely skilled gamer, and that I have earned all of my achievements in this game _and_ the real world! And another thing, I don’t appreciate your—”

  
“Wait,” Noah said suddenly, looking off at one of the cave walls, but not really seeing it. “Someone just entered a cheat-code. I have to go.”

  
“Will I see you again?” Rebecca asked, feeling conflicted. She found him to be… impressive, even though she was still struggling to understand why Kaiba had hired a child to enforce the rules of his MMORPG Virtual Reality game. She was curious, and she wanted to know more about him.

  
“Of course,” he answered, looking at her with a sly smile before walking through the cave wall and disappearing. Players definitely weren’t allowed to do that. Nobody could do that. Who was he? The more Rebecca thought about him, she felt her cheeks grow hot as if warmed by the sun. This was silly. She didn’t have a crush on the cute, supposedly intelligent, mint-haired boy. She was hopelessly devoted to Yugi, after all. Wasn’t she?


End file.
